Seriously; you don't wash your car do you? You know it's eventually going to rain anyway, right? A few minutes in the rain and it's as clean as it ever needs to be. Now if you're selling it, that's another matter. -- Lyle

Ten or so years ago I drove my shiny new Land Rover Discovery to a wedding in south Florida. I was styling pretty good until I crossed the bridge to the gated community where the church was. People in Ferraris and 911s were looking at me like I was the hired help or maybe someone's poor relation.

Sigivald, with all due respect, saying "Cars are for using", is like saying, "Guns are for using, not for looking pretty". You'd be correct on both counts, but the latter quotation means you own more Glocks than Colt Pythons with Royal Blue finishes.

Personally, I like Royal Blue...and my cars to look nice. .357 Magnum and 357 horsepower are equally effective.

"Cars are for using, not brushing their soft pony manes and putting on display."

Ah, but the right kind of car isn't just a transportation appliance. I personally like a car that can dance.

But yeah, I had a similar (if lesser) experience than Tam's last week in the parking lot of my local Dunkin Donuts, located at the entrance to a high end housing development. I parked my '04 Acura TL (6MT!) in the parking lot, and when I returned, there was a gleaming Acura NSX, a Vette of some sort, and a brand new shiny-out-of-the-box Corvette ZR1 next to me. Yeah, I broke out my camera too.